Women in the Parables of Jesus

Jesus was someone who was out of sync with his culture in so many ways, least of all in his attitude and relationship with women.  There are many accounts of his interaction with women in his culture that was not how a man would react to women.  Just looking at a few examples, we have the woman caught in adultery who he saved from being stoned to death; there is the Samaritan woman at the well who he engaged with and who he offered the living water;  there is his close relationship with Martha and Mary; and there is the woman – who is not identified  - who anointed his feet with precious nard.  There are all very positive perspectives.

There are also some encounters which are not entirely positive.  There is, first and foremost, his seeming reject ion of his mother who came to him with his bothers and wanted to speak with him.  His response being “who is my mother?”  There was his less than enthusiastic response to his mother at the marriage at Cana when Mary pointed out to him that the wine had run out, “Oh Woman, what has this to do with me?”  There was also his initial rejection of the Canaanite woman whose daughter was suffering from demon possession.  Jesus answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." 

However, these apparent negative events are the exception rather than the rule.  He did address the wine shortage by his first miracle recorded in John’s Gospel; he did come to the aid of the Canaanite woman when she persisted; he did ensure that his mother would be taken care of as one of his last acts on the cross. 

Given his positive relationship with women during his ministry, what was the role of women in his parables?  At first glance, it could be concluded that women were, for the most part, missing in action in those brilliant moral lessons that Jesus used to teach those in his circle and beyond.  His in most well-known ones, women seem to be entirely missing or at most play a minor role.  There is the parable of the Good Samaritan or where the traveller is robbed and left on the side of the road.  A priest and a Levite pass by on the other side but is rescued by a Samaritan.  The traveller is identified as a man, the robbers are assumed to be male, as is the Samaritan-the priest and Levite are undoubtedly male. 

The other parable at the top of the charts is the Prodigal Son where there is no mention of a mother in the little family of father and two sons.  We are told the younger son, “squandered his wealth in wild living” so we can assume that women were probably involved in that episode in the younger son’s life.  There are other notable ones such as The Rich Man and Lazarus, The Great Feast (or Wedding Banquet), The Pharisee and the Tax Collector, the Unforgiving Servant, and The Labourers and the Vineyard where women are absent. 

There is a group of lessons which are classified as parables which do not have a story line such as. The Parable of the Mustard Seed, The Parable of the Net, or The Parable of the Fig Tree.  In these, there is no reference to a person so it is moot for our discussion.

However, there are parables which definitely involve women as central figures. The Parable of the Lost Coin is a prominent one in this category.  It is the widow who loses the coin and diligently searches for it.  This balances the Parable of the Lost Sheep in which the shepherd (male) seeks the lost sheep.  Also, to this point we have the Parable of the Persistent Widow who pesters a judge (male) until she received justice.  There are also parables which use work which would be in the woman’s domain such as the Parable of the Old Cloth on the New Garment, or the Parable of Yeast which a woman mixed with flour. However, these are over all in the definite minority. 

So, does this mean that Jesus is not that much of a feminist - to put it in 21^st century term?  Was he a product of his time and culture to an extent that is greater than we often admit?   One of the strengths of Jesus’ parables is that they were stories that took place in settings that we common and very familiar to the listener.  Men and women each had their place in society and the parables were set in that culture.  This gave them all the more impact when he gave a surprize twist to emphasize the lesson he wanted the listener to appreciate.   To accomplish this, they often contain “elements of reversal” as one source noted e.g. the use of the despised Samaritans to emphasize the correct moral behaviour and attitude. 

All in all, I don’t believe that Jesus parables change the way that we can understand Jesus’ relationship to women and the important place they held in God’s kingdom.  After all, the women were the first to see the empty tomb and spread the news of the Resurrection. 

Blessings on your journey.